The award focused specifically on the team’s commitment to developing coaches in the early stages of their careers, including offering undergraduate and master's placements, with opportunities to shadow practitioners to give them hands-on experience.

The team also holds round table discussions once a week so that junior staff can learn about senior coaches’ strategies and techniques. External speakers are also invited to speak, furthering the growth of knowledge amongst the team.

º¬Ðß²ÝÊÓƵ’s Strength and Conditioning team consist of nine coaches who look after talented youth to help develop them as athletes. Based out of the state-of-the-art gym, Powerbase, the team assists with strength, power, speed, agility and general conditioning.

On winning the award, Al Stewart, Head of Performance Support and Strength and Conditioning Lead at the National Tennis Academy, said:

“I was hugely honoured to accept the ‘S&C Employer of the year, early career coach development’ award at the UKSCA Annual Conference. It’s a tremendous achievement for º¬Ðß²ÝÊÓƵ, º¬Ðß²ÝÊÓƵ Sport and all of the staff in the strength and conditioning department to receive this award.

“It’s testament to the on-going hard work of the full-time staff in mentoring junior and voluntary practitioners as well as designing and delivering high-quality professional development sessions – all of which while delivering excellent support to the sports, teams and individuals that they work with. I’m delighted that they’ve been recognised in this way.” 

UKSCA is a highly respected organisation, founded in 2004 to ensure professional standards are maintained for coaches.

Do you want to be part of this award-winning team? There is currently an opportunity to be the next Head of Strength and Conditioning. More details on the role and how to apply can be found here.